according to the materials of the site - By Cryptopolitan_News
The automaker Jaguar Land Rover plans to cut 500 management positions in the UK due to Trump's tariffs, which is a clear departure from Prime Minister Keir Starmer's promise to preserve jobs in the UK. According to JLR, the layoffs will affect only 1.5% of the company's workforce in the UK.
A spokesman for the automaker stated that layoffs are a normal occurrence for Volvo cars, as the company offers limited voluntary severance programs for eligible employees. The company's workforce numbers around 35,000 employees, although it has recently faced declining sales.
Job cuts are occurring against the backdrop of declining sales for the automaker due to a 25% tariff on cars from foreign manufacturers. After making a profit of $1.6 billion only in 2024, the company reported a 10% drop in sales in the first quarter due to a temporary suspension of supplies from the U.S. from its Indian parent company Tata Motors. Jaguar also reported a 15.1% drop in sales in the second quarter as the company continues to face challenges related to increased tariffs from Trump.
After negotiations with Starmer, Trump's tariffs on British exports were reduced to around 10%, despite the car manufacturer's production being located in Slovakia. Speaking at the company's factory in Solihull in May, Starmer mentioned that he managed to preserve jobs. JLR CEO Adrian Mardell stated that the deal would help maintain 250,000 jobs in the UK.
British Conservative Party politician Andrew Griffith also acknowledged that the cuts at JLR were a disgrace for the Prime Minister. He noted that the UK government takes business unseriously due to union bureaucracy, job taxes, and an obsession with purely zero profit. Griffith believes this is the reason for rising unemployment in the UK.
Job cuts occurred against the backdrop of a sharp rise in unemployment in the UK to a four-year high, driven by Chancellor Rachel Reeves' increase in national insurance rates by €25 billion. Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that the unemployment rate in the country was 4.7% in the first quarter. ONS also reported a decrease of 41,000 jobs in June compared to the previous month, the lowest figure since September 2023.
JLR also previously suspended the production of its cars due to rebranding last year: from a logo featuring a large cat to the capital letter J. The company reported that it would resume sales of its cars after a complete relaunch, expected next year, and a shift to fully electric vehicles.
Reform UK leader Nigel Farage claimed that the rebranding was 'woke', but JLR insisted on the need for changes to restore the company's profitability. The automaker emphasized that the cuts would affect certain divisions of JLR and were also intended to compensate for falling Jaguar sales.
Volvo demands the EU lower tariffs on American cars
Volvo Cars CEO Håkan Samuelsson wants the EU to reduce the 10% tariff on American cars after a loss of $1.2 billion. He believes that automakers from the bloc do not need protection from American manufacturers.
Belgian automakers have made efforts to convince the U.S. to reduce the more than 27% tariff on imported European cars. Samuelsson argued that trade dynamics in Europe should allow it to be the first to move to very low tariffs. Under the Biden administration, the EU maintained a 10% tax on cars imported from the U.S., while the U.S. had a 2.5% tariff on European-made cars.
"I believe this is completely unnecessary, the European automotive industry definitely does not need any protection from American manufacturers."
— Håkan Samuelsson, CEO of Volvo Cars Corporation.
A large portion of the automaker's cars sold in the U.S. are imported from Europe, making it one of the European automakers most affected by Trump's tariffs. On July 16, Volvo announced that it would start production of its best-selling model — the hybrid XC60 — in the U.S. at the end of next year.
The company continues to produce the Polestar 3 and electric model EX90 in South Carolina but has acknowledged decreased demand from American consumers. The automaker also wants to reduce its product supply in the U.S., with Samuelsson claiming they are controlling these measures.
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